Mustang Week 2013 - Myrtle Beach, SC

Grand Central

Cruise-In

There are myriad cruises that lead to the final day of Mustang Week, but one of the longest-running of these events is the Fox cruise put on by Southeastern Foxbodies. We usually end up shooting a few Fox features, so we always pop by afterward to check out the gathering of Foxes. This year over 140 of these classics, the biggest group yet, made their way to the Myrtle Beach Mall in series. One of these days we’ll try to make it to some of the other cruises, but there are many and they are spread out.

At last year’s Mustang Week, this Fox was a rough shell. The crew at Southeastern Foxbodies, spearheaded by Troy Raby, set out to revamp it and auction it to the benefit of three charities: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Victory Junction Gang Camp, and Savannah’s Drive. You can read more about the car and it’s good causes at www.save-a-fox.com. With the help of sponsors like Cervini’s Latemodel Restoration, Stifflers, TMI Products, Trick Flow, and UPR , Troy and his crew completely revamped the car. It turned out so nice that your scribe bought five tickets. The car didn’t come back to Florida. Instead, a ticket-buyer from Nebraska won the stunning LX. You’ll see more on this car in a future issue.

Latemodel Restoration takes on Mustang Week in full force. The company is a major sponsor of the car show and cover the event on its website. LRS took a welcoming approach at its giant tent, offering swamp cooling, free water, and free catalogs. Drawing people in were the company project cars, like this Coyote-swapped SN-95.

It was great meeting fellow Vapor Silver GT500 owner Nate Hartsock in front of the AirLift Performance booth, which was part of Mustang Week’s ever-expanding vendor displays. Nate’s ride looks sick slammed to the bumpstops, but he can easily raise it up and drive it away thanks to the AirLift system. The company even showed how to install one of its kits at the event using Julie Edward’s ’10 Mustang GT as the recipient. They completed the install in six hours and 8 minutes in the heat.

Not to say that Lightning 5.4 swaps are taking over the Mustang scene, but we did spy a couple of them in Myrtle Beach. The owner of this New Edge attention-getter says he really wants his car to appear on these pages and he thinks its almost ready. Maybe next year ...

My Ride

I have had the good fortune to roll up and down the Grand Strand in some incredible machines. It's always great fun to have some of the latest hardware, as people always want to check it out. I've pretty much given up on explaining that the cars aren't mine, as most people don't know me or have an idea about media loaner cars. That makes it fun to temporarily soak up the appreciation of Mustang enthusiasts.

This year that adoration came pretty often as my chariot was a Gotta Have It Green '14 Mustang GT with the Track Pack option. This GT rocked the optional Recaros, 3.73 gears, and the desirable wing-delete. In all it was a clean, well-balanced car that gathered looks like bare skin attracts mosquitos in the low country.

One time, a couple guys in a Terminator urged me to roll down the window. I was ready to answer a question about the car's performance or options. Instead they just asked me if "I had to have it," referencing the GHIG paint. I simply said, "Of course." In truth, I have had my ups and downs with the color. I burned out on it for a while, but of late I've grown to really enjoy the color.

By now we know what to expect from the willing Coyote and the balance of the Track Pack. It's the most naturally aspirated fun you can have in a Mustang short of the dear departed Boss 302. While at the BFG autocross school, the car acquitted itself well, with just a bit of the expected understeer but enough power to hang the tail out on command. The best part is throttling the Pony like that, then rolling up the windows, cranking the A/C, and heading to the next MW event without a care.

Though we are on the verge of a new Mustang, I have a feeling that the '13-'14 Mustangs will remain highly regarded for years to come. The odds are that a GHIG Track Pack like this one will be one of the hottest commodities around. I'm glad I was able to spend a week in one.